Bill Gates Announces An Aid Increase For Pakistan

Days after the Trump administration announced it was suspending security assistance to the country, a billionaire philanthropist has committed that his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will increase financial aid for Pakistan.

The Microsoft founder also acknowledges the receipt of certain concept notes regarding innovations in the health sector, especially with regards to “strengthening mother and child care and reproductive health”, which he said were being analysed by a team of experts.

Although its sole focus in the past was supporting polio eradication campaigns, the latest communication indicates that the foundation may expand its assistance to other realms of the healthcare sector.

The Trump administration had already suspended $225 million worth of security assistance from the Foreign Military Financing fund, which is used to provide military equipment and training to a friendly country.

In his first tweet of the new year, President Trump had accused Pakistan of taking billions of dollars in aid and in return, giving “nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.